Pomperlut

Just had my youngest to stay for nearly a week and what a pleasure it has been. Long enough to 

The much smaller Lyre of Ur replica with
some of Luc Vanlaere's other harps

Exceller Bikes' tables for coffee or beer

enjoy activities together and not too long for her to feel a bit bored at my slower pace of life!! I hadn’t realised she had never attended a Luc Vanlaere concert in Oud Sint Jan and his performance proved to be as delightful for her as it has been for me on numerous occasions. Our visit also gave me the opportunity to see again his splendid  reconstruction of the nearly 5000 year old Lyre of Ur about which I wrote in my September blog. This time Luc played the Lyre and also showed a video/commentary in which he described the early excavation of two original remains of Lyres in Southern Mesopotamia in 1929, plus a brief description of how his replica came to be made.

I failed to get Cait to visit the wonderful Gruuthuse Museum this time, but we did go for a beer to her favourite bike shop, Exceller Bikes in Philipstockstraat, a quirky venue with expensive bikes and equipment plus chic black tables and chairs, inside and out, for clients to sample a beer or coffee. We learned from the owner that in January/February the area in front of the shop will be transformed into a small square, facilitated by closing off Twijnstraat. Great for the shop and for future clients.

On Friday evening, as a final flourish, we went to Pomperlut on

 Pomperlut, a lovely 17th century building on
Minderbroedersstraat, Brugge.

Minderbroedersstraat, opposite the children’s playground end of Astridpark. It is superb and should be jointly ranked with The Park [on the same street] as Number One Restaurant in Brugge instead of at sixth or seventh! We had delectable tapas to start and shared the two mains featuring shrimps, and beef with gamba, which made the taste buds sing. We could not eat a dessert but one of the lovely waiters nonetheless brought us a free shared bowl of tiramisu which we managed, just, to eat. The restaurant itself is architecturally very pleasing with interesting lighting and various decorative touches featuring mushrooms and toadstools, Pomperlut being an old Flemish word for mushroom. The only downside to this wonderful restaurant is the cost which rather rules it out as a frequent treat! Although I did save money on the Saturday as I was hardly able to eat anything all day.

 Berthold Kijken

On the Sunday morning, I strode off to find Hauwerstraat 3A just off ‘t Zand where the first Aperitief Concert of the fortieth season for De Negen Muzen was to take place. One enters Number 3 as from a building site [it is opposite the huge hole where the Beurshalle once stood] but inside the main building all is new and light and the venue, De Brug is the tuinpavilijoen across the garden behind the main house and an ideal spot for a concert hall. I had had misgivings about a new, unknown venue after the dear familiarity of the Crowne Plaza, the usual setting for many years. The concert, entitled ‘Les Gouts Reunis’ Parijs 1700-1725, was a delight with gifted performers, Barthold Kuijken, traverso, and Ewald Demeyer, klavecimbel, playing Couperin, Hotteterre and Leclair to a full appreciative house. After which came the aperitef and the opportunity to greet fellow concert lovers.

 Ewald Demeyere